Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surgical bone reduction bur and, in particular, to a dental bur used to prepare the site of a bone surface prior to dental implant placement.
Description of the Related Art
This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the invention. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is prior art or what is not prior art.
Dental implant surgery often requires the use of a surgical drill to prepare the topography of the jaw bone site prior to the placement of the dental implant. The gingiva are incised and pushed back to expose the jaw bone crest below. The surgical drill is then used to flatten the bone crest such that the bone no longer has ridges or irregularities that could otherwise result in implant misplacement and/or cleaning problems.
This dental implant procedure is often performed using burs that were originally designed for other dental procedures. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0105293 A1 discloses such dental burs in FIGS. 2 and 3. Unfortunately, the tips of these dental burs have abrasive surfaces that can cause excessive damage to soft tissue, which damage can compromise healing.
Other burs exist that provide a protective tip for reducing damage to soft tissue. For example, U.S. Design Pat. No. D269,040 discloses dental burs that comprise an abrasive surface with a non-abrasive, rounded distal tip. However, these burs would not be useable for dental implant surgery, due to the shape of the rounded tip.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0093841 discloses a surgical drill bit having a blunted and smooth tip that provides protection to nerves, tissue, and dura. However, this drill bit, which was designed to remove bone within a spine, has a shape that would not result in flattening of the mandibular or maxillary bones nor would it provide the proper protection necessary for dental implant surgery.